United States

Freeway Runs Directly Through Office Tower

WebUrbanist tells the curious story of the Gate Tower Building in Osaka, Japan. Property rights battles between the owners and transportation planners resulted in a high-rise tower with a freeway running through the 5th floor.

November 14, 2011 - WebUrbanist

Railroad Companies Repairing Infrastructure On Their Own

Transit agencies and railroad companies realize the importance of infrastructure, as their train cars roll over bridges and through tunnels every day. This article looks at advances in bridge construction begin driven by these private industries.

November 14, 2011 - Progressive Railroading

Return of the "Flophouse"

Neal Peirce says its time to bring back the "rooming house" and other alternative housing options as an alternative to the single-family home.

November 14, 2011 - Citiwire.net

Could a Brain-Reading Bike Be the Wave of the Future?

Bicycle builders Parlee Bikes have constructed a bicycle that can be steered by your thoughts, received through a sensor-covered helmet.

November 14, 2011 - AutoBlogGreen

Gas Prices On The Rise Despite Reduced Gas Consumption

Americans are driving less and more efficiently, resulting in reduced gas consumption - yet prices are rising. What gives? For a nation that relies on oil imports despite surging drilling, the answer is unusual.

November 14, 2011 - Los Angeles Times - Business

People Report Walking or Riding Transit More Than They Actually Do

Alan Pisarski says despite reports of growth in walking, biking, carpooling and transit, very little has changed in the U.S., and people will always over-report their good intentions.

November 13, 2011 - New Geography

The Tiniest Apartments in the U.S.

$1,000 a month in rent in New York City is a steal - but this apartment is only 100 sq. ft. Curbed rounds up a number of unbelievably tiny rentals in hot markets from Chicago to Reading, Ohio.

November 12, 2011 - Curbed

"Rare Show of Bipartisanship" Behind Highway Overhaul Legislation

The two-year transportation Senate bill would mean improved infrastructure, jobs, and state-level flexibility. And as far as both parties are concerned, it's a winner.

November 12, 2011 - NPR

Michael Sorkin Pulls No Punches in New Book of Criticism

Norman Weinstein reviews Sorkin's new book All Over the Map. Sorkin, he says, is at his best when exposing the injustices of architecture.

November 11, 2011 - ArchNewsNow

What a Transportation Engineer Calls "Walkable"

A transportation engineer sent Charles Marohn a video to prove how walkable his "diverging diamond" overpass design is. Marohn overdubbed his not-so-flattering reply.

November 11, 2011 - New Urban Network

Adult Uses and Zoning: How Do You Define "Naked"?

A neighborhood association is protesting that Stadium Club, a "steak-and-strippers" place in Washington, DC, is an adult use and against local zoning ordinances. But the Board of Zoning Adjustment decided recently that it isn't "sexually-oriented."

November 10, 2011 - Washington Citypaper

Drilling For Highway Trust Fund Dollars

To maintain current transportation spending levels in the new reauthorization bill, Speaker Boehner is proposing a bill to fill the shortfall from projected federal gas tax revenues with the royalties expected from new oil and gas drilling.

November 10, 2011 - The Washington Post: Ezra Klein's Wonkblog

Mother-In-Law Apartments Are Good for the Economy

Accessory dwelling units, or in-law apartments, are gaining approval in greater numbers of communities.

November 10, 2011 - The New York Times

Landlords and Regulators Aren't Equipped to Handle Temporary Uses

Even a real estate market as strong as Washington, DC has vacant land and storefronts. Regulatory burdens and business customs make finding temporary tenants difficult, even though temporary uses can enliven dead spaces and spark entrepreneurship.

November 10, 2011 - Greater Greater Washington

Mass Transit Projects' High Cost Give Minimal Results

Factors such as age, labor costs, real estate, and construction all factor into why cities are paying more money for transit projects, but are still getting less on their return, writes David Lepeska for The Atlantic Cities.

November 9, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

Should Cities Be Looking for Their Own High Line?

At the recent ASLA Conference in San Diego, a panel of noted landscape architects discussed whether New York City's hit park The High Line is a replicable model for other cities.

November 9, 2011 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

Panoramic Pics of Top 100 Public Spaces

Planetizen regular Chris Whitis features some stunning shots of several of the winners of our recent Top 100 Public Spaces crowdsourcing survey.

November 8, 2011 - Sitephocus

The Secret to More Jobs isn't Home Creation, its Rehabilitation

Emily Badger of The Atlantic Cities explores the economic and environmental advantages of refurbishing old buildings over constructing new ones.

November 8, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

The Highway Trust Fund Challenge: Policy Reform And Increasing Revenue

Politico recaps the findings of the two federal commissions authorized by the last transportation bill. While their findings are not hopeful, they do present a better outlook for a change 'down the road' - perhaps in a future authorization bill.

November 6, 2011 - Politico

Grim Figures for Areas of Concentrated Poverty

A new Brookings Institution report shows that places of concentrated poverty are getting worse due to unsustained growth nationwide and the suburbanization of poverty. Authors Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube expound on the findings.

November 6, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.